It’s 9 at night, you’ll be hitting the hay in just 1 hour and you only ate dinner 2 hours ago, but… there is that craving for a snack that you just cannot deny.
You know you surely can’t be hungry after the large amount you ate at dinner, but every couple of minutes you look towards the kitchen. Trying to suppress the craving…drink water, make tea, brush your teeth, chew a stick of gum, suck on a mint, clear everything that tastes good out of the pantry/fridge.
Trying to distract yourself with anything but a damn piece of food.
Then… you can no longer take it. You succumb to the craving and dig into…
- mini pretzels (smaller size means you feel like you can have more and they’re low in calories, right?)
- just a couple bites from the pint of ice cream (if you skim from the top and don’t put it in a bowl it does less damage, no?)
- a couple slivers of the leftover banana bread (slivers are so much healthier and skinnier for you than a full slice)
- OR you grab that 100-calorie snack pack as that will help you regulate how much you have (never fully satisfying your craving).
Then ½ way through or after, you start the cycle of…
- “why couldn’t I just resist? I suck and have no will power.”
- “I’ll start tomorrow. I’ll be good tomorrow. Now, just a couple more chips.”
- “Ugh, I’m disgusting. Why can it be so easy for ___ {insert friend you love but totally envy her will power}___?”
You begin to think you are predisposed to craving all the crap you know you shouldn’t eat and that you’ll have to deprive yourself the rest of your life.
Food is now Love/Hate and has control over you.
LET’S BREAK A MYTH:
It’s rarely about the food. Your cravings are rarely about food. Your will-power is not about food. It’s about…
Your desires, needs, & connection (or lack of) with your body and senses.
Food has become too methodical, logical, numerical, counting, boring, etc. We’ve lost the ability to tune-in, listen, understand, and ultimately be in control. In the Un-Diet Your Diet teleseminar, we’ll be going much deeper into this, but this simple exercise can uncover a lot.
LET ME SHARE A SECRET:
Here’s the secret tool we’re rarely taught (unless your parents are super sweet Jedi’s)…
Step 1:
Step 2:
Q: When you think about this food (from step #1), what type of feeling does it give you before and during consuming it?
Ex: Comforted, relaxed, sophisticated, safe, fun, affluent, energized, indulgent, special,
excited, calm, etc.
Step 3:
Q: What else do you have in your life that gives you these feelings (from step #2)? (Or what have you had in your life at at one point that gave you these feelings?)
Ex: carefree=playing with kids, nephew, dog, etc.; sophisticated=getting a manicure;
freedom=taking an impromptu road trip.
ACTION: